Zakuro no Ai
by Ravena Felidae
Summary: Nekojiwa Zakuro is a kunoichi who is nicknamed the'Deadly Legged Dame'. Beautiful and daring,she is known for her powerful kicks and stunning beauty. So she has to have a boyfriend, right? WRONG! Why you ask? Well, you have to read and find out, don'tcha?
1. Chara Page

**Zakuro no Ai**

**CHARA PAGE!

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*R.F. appears out of a hole in the ground riding an elevated platform*

R.F: :3 Moshi-mosh! I'm R.F. the writer for Zakuro no Ai. Before we begin, I wanna run you guys through a bit about the main character.

*Pulls out a screen with a pic of a young woman called Zakuro Nekojiwa. She has long reddish purple hair held back by the Leaf headband, wears a black choker with a tear shaped amethyst, a violet turtle necked tank top with a reddish purple sash, black pants bound at the ankles and geta sandles. On her arms are a pair of golden gauntlets*

R.F: This young lady here is Nekojiwa Zakuro, age 18, made her first debut in my earlier story, 'The power of Triplets'. Zakuro is a kunoichi nicknamed "the Deadly Legged Dame". She usually holds a tough exterior but in truth she is androphobic (afraid of guys). She purposely acts nonchalant to hide her awkwardness. Gai-sensei is extremely smitten by her but she's creeped out by him. As for Kakashi-sensei...you'll find out...

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**Background info

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**

-**Comes from a clan that uses cats and is allied with the Inuzuka clan.**

-**Is partners with a cougar called Tsuchi.**

**-Has younger triplet sisters, Hikari, Kaori and Cori.**

**-Best Friends with Hana Inuzuka.**

**-Just recently moved into a new house with Hana in order to prevent overcrowding at the Inuzuka house.**

**-Ocassionally, works part time as a waitress in a Korean BBQ restaurant to try get over phobia.  
**


	2. New Day, Bad Day

**Zakuro no Ai**

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**Chp 1: New Day, Bad Day...**

It was early morning at the new 'Neko-Inu' house as Zakuro and Hana called their new abode. Two storeys tall, with a traditional Japanese design, a back garden and just a few blocks away from the animal hospital Hana works at, it was perfect for the two girls, their cougar and three wolves. At the moment, the tenants were busy eating breakfast, Hana and Zakuro at the table while Tsuchi the cougar and the Haimaru brothers chewed on large joints of meat.

"Zaku-rin? Zakur-rin? ZAKU-RIN! ZA-KU-R-I-N!" called Hana in a very annoyed tone while Zakuro sat spaced out munching on a piece of buttered toast.

"Oishii-ne…" said Zakuro absentmindedly. "Butter is just so...buttery..."

"HORA! ZAKURO!"

"Hm?" replied Zakuro finally coming to her senses. "You said somethin' Hana-chin?"

Hana sighed exasperatedly as she face-palmed herself. "Zaku-rin, remember what time I told you your new job would start?"

"8.30 am."

"Good, and the time now?" asked Hana jerking at the clock on the wall behind her.

"8.20 am-ma-ma-MAAAAH! I'm gonna be late! Bye Hana!" exclaimed Zakuro jumping from her seat and running out of the house leaving a trail of dust in her wake.

Hana said nothing as she stared after her friend with a dead panned face. "Itarashai….."

Zakuro slipped on her geta sandles in a flash as she used the strength in her powerful legs to propel herself into the air over roof tops.

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**_Zakuro's POV: My name is Nekojiwa Zakuro, 18 yrs old, jonin rank. However, I hear that many have dubbed me the 'Deadly-Legged Dame'. A few months ago, my family and I moved here from Sunagakure to live with the Inuzuka family, who my clan's had close relations with. The oldest of my younger sisters, Hikari was betrothed to Hana's younger brother, Kiba. Something about a bet and an effort to merge the clans together, my dad's idea._**

**_Anyway, back to me, today I'm beginning part-time work at a Korean BBQ restaurant called 'BBK Delight!' which Hana helped me get._**

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"Ohayo-gozaimasu! I'm Nekojiwa Zakuro, the new waitress, yorushiku onegaishimasu!" said Zakuro as she entered the restaurant and bowed to a kindly middle aged woman with a name tag that read 'Manager'.

"Welcome, Zakuro-chan, my daughter, Ranka is at the back with your kimono, better hurry your shift starts in 5 minutes," said the manager.

"Hai!" said Zakuro as she quickly popped into the back room where a young girl, no older than 14 yrs with jet black hair tied into twin tails greeted her and passed her a pink kimono and pointed to the women's locker room.

Zakuro nodded a thanks as she quickly went to change. A few moments later, Ranka went to go check on the new employee.

"Zakuro-nee? Are you done?" asked the manager's daughter, upon entering the room just as Zakuro pulled her long wine colored hair out of her kimono and tied to the side of her head.

Ranka looked at Zakuro with big sparkly eyes when the teenager turned around to face the girl. The kimono Zakuro wore was a soft shade of pink that contrasted beautifully against Zakuro's hair color with a white obi around her waist. A fiery red and orange pattern snaked the hem of the outfit. Ranka cupped her own face in amazement. "UWAAAAH~! Zakuro-nee, you look so elegant in that outfit!" she exclaimed.

Zakuro smiled at the compliment and gave a slight bow, before leaving to begin her shift.

In a matter minutes, the whole restaurant was staring at the new waitress in awe who walked gracefully from table to table, taking orders by the dozen.

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**_Zakuro's POV: To tell you the truth, I don't really have any problems serving people, I've done it before as a D-rank mission back in Suna as a genin. It's just that w-well…._**

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"Excuse me, Miss?" called a couple of rough looking middle aged Konoha chunin just as Zakuro walked past them. Zakuro tensed up a bit but tried to remain composed as possible as she turned to attend to them.

"Yes, sirs?" asked Zakuro keeping her face calm as she noticed the ninja eyeing her curves, especially the ones on her chest. Her eye began to twitch a little.

The guy who called her grinned a little pervertedly. "My sake bottle's empty how about another round, huh baby?"

By now Zakuro was already starting to feel squeamish as the guy reached out to stroke her face. Instinctively, Zakuro flinched and avoided the hand quickly before bowing and turned away shuddering heavily, the drunk ninja laughing audibly behind her. Once she got into the back room, Zakuro crouched down and curled up into a ball shivering as she closed her eyes.

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**_...Ok, I'm not gonna lie to you guys. In truth, I'm an androphobic...and I don't know why...I've been living with this fear for five years but whenever I try to think back to when my fear started, there's just been this huge blank in my head...  
_**

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"Ano...Zakuro-nee?" a small voice said as a hand rested on Zakuro's shoulder making her jump in fright.

"R-ranka-chan!" squeaked Zakuro breathing heavily.

"Are you okay? You look pale," said the girl worriedly as she crouched in front of the young woman.

"I-I'm fine Ranka-chan, I just feel a little light headed that's all..." lied Zakuro through her teeth.

The younger girl quirked her eyebrow but said nothing. Instead she just nodded sympathetically and walked out leaving Zakuro. The young woman got up and walked to the door and peeked a little at all the male customers. Fear gripped Zakuro's heart as she whipped her head back and pressed her back against the wall, taking deep breaths.

_"Come on Zakuro, you can do this! You're a jonin-ranked kunoichi! The notorious 'Deadly Legged Dame' for Pete's sake! They're just people! You can take them down anytime!" _whispered Zakuro in an attempt to reassure herself, before walking out with a smile plastered on her face.

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**_So right now you're wondering, why take the job if you're afraid of guys? Well, my reason is simple enough. As a kunoichi with my kind of reputation, it goes without saying it'll be a disgrace for me to still be living with this kind of fear...so...voila!  
_**

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Zakuro's heart thumped in her ears as she made her way back to table with the pervy ninjas holding a tray with 4 new sake bottles. Her hands shook lightly but thankfully still manged to remain calm as she set the tray down. After bowing once more, Zakuro was about to turn to leave when the ninja who tried to stroke her before grabbed her arm a pulled her forcefully on his lap, sliding his hands around her waist, grinning perversely. His friends slid closer as they began stroking her hair and face.

"Hey sweetheart, not so fast why don't come and join us~" said man as his finger cupped Zakuro's chin.

Zakuro began to freeze up as she felt the ninjas hands all over her. "N-no, please sirs, stop..."she stammered as she felt herself wanting to throw up from the man's alcohol breath.

Suddenly, she felt one of the hands clutch her boob and squeeze it. This was the last straw as the kunoichi finally snapped. _**"STOP IT...!"**_ she screamed as Zakuro freed herself from the men. _"STAY AWAY FROM MEEE!"  
_

BY then, everyone in the restaurant had turned to see what had was when the manager showed to see what the commotion was about. Zakuro began shaking heavily as another waitress came and hugged her comfortingly. The manager looked at Zakuro before sternly turning to the group of drunken men. "Excuse me dear sirs, but I shall have to ask you men to leave. I will not tolerate any sexual harassment of my waitresses from anybody!" said the manager fiercely.

The men frowned, obviously not pleased with being told off. "Look, back off Lady, it's our fault your waitress is being a crybaby!" retorted one of them as he pushed the manager causing her to stumble back but was caught by the other waitresses who scowled at them. Suddenly Ranka trudged forward and glared.

"Leave my mother alone, you ratty old geezer!" she yelled kicking the guy's shin so hard that he yelped and hopped up and down holding his leg.

"WHY you little BRAT!" he yelled as he raised his hand to strike the girl when someone grabbed it.

"Oi, oi, you shouldn't mistreat women you know..." interrupted a new voice.

Numerous pleasant gasps were heard from the various women and waitresses when they saw the newcomer. "Kyaa~! Kakashi-sama!" a few squealed.

The man scoffed as he wrenched his hand from Kakashi's. "Hmph, Kakashi-san, what do you want?"

Kakashi narrowed his eye at him. "You know, I wonder what your wives will say when I tell them that you tried to molest one of the waitresses here..."

The group of men widened their eyes in fear at the mention of the word 'wives'. "You wouldn't!" one of them said in fear.

"Wanna bet?"

The men cringed in fear at the thought of incurring the wrath of their spouses. The manager stood up and dusted her kimono as she stepped forward once more. "Once again, I suggest you leave now. Your group is banned from eating here for the rest of the year. Should you breach this ban I **_will_** ensure that Hokage-sama hears of this," threatened the Manager sternly.

Still wanting to keep their pride intact, the leader of the group scoffed. "Hmph, fine whatever!" he said as he and his group stormed out of the place.

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Meanwhile, one of the waitresses had brought Zakuro to the Locker room and promptly left to get her a glass of water. Zakuro curled up in a chair and breathed hard. _"Today is just not my day..."_she muttered to herself. _"What's wrong with me...why am I so afraid?..."_

"Zakuro_."_

_"KYAAAA!"_ squealed the woman in shock as she jumped into the air and latched herself on the ceiling like a scared cat.

"Wow...that's quite a reaction..." remarked Kakashi bluntly as he looked up at Zakuro.

"K-Kakashi-senpai!" squeaked Zakuro as she jumped down and landed on her feet. "Thank you for just now!" she said hurriedly as she bowed her head down low.

"Your welcome...but..." Kakashi began to say when he sweat dropped. "Why are you saying that from the other side of the room?"

Sure enough, Zakuro for some reason had retreated far away from Kakashi and was bowing at the far side of the room. Zakuro looked down at her feet. "Heh, what do you know..." she laughed weakly but still refused to budge from her spot. Suddenly, Zakuro began to feel a little woozy and began to lean on the wall for support. Beads of sweat began to roll down her face.

"Oi,oi, Zakuro-chan are you alright?" asked Kakashi as he began to approach Zakuro who suddenly begin to tense up.

_'No...Stay away from me...'_ thought Zakuro in panic as she crouched down and hugged herself.

Kakashi slow stretched a hand out to the girl. "Zaku-"

"Don't touch me!" snapped Zakuro all of a sudden, slapping away her senior's hand.

For a moment there was a tense silence in the air. Kakashi stared at Zakuro, stunned greatly by what she just did. The woman then lowered her head until her bangs shadowed her eyes. "Please...just..leave me alone..." she muttered sinking to the floor and hugging herself. "Just go..."

Kakashi opened his mouth to say something but then decided against as he gave Zakuro her wish and quietly exited the room where he found Ranka peeking from the doorway.

"Is she going to be alright?" asked Ranka a little worriedly to the jonin.

Kakashi simply smiled beneath his mask and placed a hand on the girl's head. "Zakuro's a tough girl, she was just shaken up, she'll be back on her feet in no time," he reassuringly although in the back of his head he was very curious and confused with Zakuro's behavior.

Still, Kakashi thought it was best that someone Zakuro was familiar with brought her home to which the Manager agreed to. Quickly Kakashi exited the restaurant and made his way to the girl's new house to get a certain cougar.

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Luckily, Tsuchi happened to be around taking care of the house when Kakashi stopped by and told her what happened.

An extreme look of shock followed by worry flashed on the cougar's face. "Zakuro-sama! Is she alright?"

"She's fine Tsuchi, I just needed you to come by and bring her home," replied Kakashi putting his hands up to calm the cougar.

Tsuchi looked on the ground and nodded. "Understood, Kakashi-dono..." said Tsuchi softly. _"I knew this was a bad idea..." _she muttered in a barely audible voice which unknown to her Kakashi had happened to hear.

Without another word Kakashi and T_s_uchi quickly made their way to the restaurant. Once there, Kakashi watched as Zakuro threw her arms around the cougar's neck and started crying while Tsuchi rubbed her head aginst Zakuro's and patted her back with her paw.

Then after nodding a thanks to Kakashi and apologizing to the Manager, Tsuchi scooped Zakuro onto her back and left through the back door.

Kakashi's eye narrowed in concern as he watched them leave._ 'Nekojiwa Zakuro...that woman is hiding something and I'm going to find out what...'  
_


	3. Zakuro's Secret, Kakashi Investigates!

**_R.F.: A little author's note before we start. As you guys know, the Haimaru brothers can't really speak to people unless the person is part of the Nekojiwa or Inuzuka clan or if the person is another animal. So for the benefit of the readers I have inputted an animal translation for you to understand the conversations of the animals._**

**_Oh and one more thing, since the Haimaru Bros. names were never mentioned in the manga or the anime I have created these names for them, Maru-ichi, Maru-ni and Maru-san. Later days!_**

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**_Chp 2: Zakuro's Secret, Kakashi Investigates!  
_**

Zakuro curled up into a ball on her bed in the dim lighting of her room. "Today was the worst...the absolute worst..." chanted Zakuro under her breath repeatedly. She was clearly depressed over that morning's events.

_"What's wrong with me?"_the woman demanded from herself as she clutched her head, curling her body up tighter._"Why am I so afraid?..."_

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Tsuchi paced about worriedly outside Zakuro's room. She could break down the door at any moment of course but Zakuro had specifically requested to be alone. The Haimaru brothers sat nearby and whined in unison at the cougar's distress.

"Calm down a bit, Tsuchi-neesan. Zakuro-sama will surely pull through!"said Maru-san, the youngest and most optimistic of the Haimaru triplets.

"Yeah, Hana-sama has her bad days at work too," agreed Maru-ichi the oldest Haimaru brother.

"And Zakuro-sama is a strong person!" added Maru-ni, the middle sibling of the Haimaru triplets.

**_"BAKA, BAKA, BAKA!"_** growled Tsuchi to the trio making them flinch. "This isn't your any 'bad day at work' scenario...this was supposed to help Zakuro-sama..." she explained sadly as her ears drooped and sank to the floor in depression as she placed her paws over her head."How am I supposed to stay calm like this..." she sobbed softly as Tsuchi curled her tail tightly around herself.

The Haimaru Brothers looked at each other as their ears drooped in sadness too. Slowly, they walked up to Tsuchi and whined. Maru-ichi lay his head down next to the cougar while Maru-ni and Maru-san placed their heads on the cougar's body.

"Daijobu Tsuchi-neesan..." they all said softly in unison.

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**Meanwhile... inside Zakuro's room, the 18 year old woman had drifted off to sleep at some point and into a dream...**

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_The dream was a strange one. Zakuro found herself standing in a forest somewhere._

_**'Where am I?...' **Zakuro asked herself when she heard a sound nearby. She suddenly turned her head and gasped a little as she saw herself as a 13-year old girl and she was leaning on...surprise-surprise... a boy for support._

_He appeared to be around 15 years old, slightly taller than her. Zakuro was surprised, her younger self did not seem frightened of this boy. _

_In fact, she seemed to have tender feelings for him and apparently, the feeling appeared mutual. His face was hidden in the shadows so Zakuro couldn't make out his features. From where older Zakuro was standing, she could see that her younger self was limping.  
_

_**'I remember this...it was my first ever mission as a chunnin...this was when we had just completed but I had sprained my ankle in the process and I couldn't walk properly..' **_recalled Zakuro as she watched herself smile at the boy tenderly._** ' If I recall...Tsuchi had flown back to Suna to send in the report first...why didn't I go back with with her? Why did I choose to painfully endure a long walk home with this boy?'**_

___Suddenly, Zakuro found herself in her younger body leaning willingly on the boy. For some reason she felt happy and warm, never mind the pain in her ankle. She didn't care as long as this boy was by her side._

_**"Ano, ...-kun? I know it's kind of cheesy for me to say this now even though we're already together and all but...you do** **know I really love you right?"** Zakuro heard herself say save for the boy's name which was strangely muted out._

_**'Huh? Love? Who is this person? Why can't I say his name?'  
**_

_The boy turned his head to look at her but his face still remained a blur. He appeared to be smiling and replying Zakuro but nothing was coming out. It was like someone had pressed the mute button on this person, silencing out his voice. _

_**'Who are you? What are you saying?...'** Zakuro wanted to ask but the words just wouldn't come out._

_All of a sudden Zakuro feels this dark presence behind her. She looked behind to see an ominous looking black mist with multiple pale hands reaching out at her frighteningly. Zakuro suddenly feels the boy grab her hand and pull her, forcing her to run with him. Zakuro could feel the sharp pain in her ankle with each step. _

_**'What's wrong with this person? He knows I can't run with a swollen ankle! Why isn't he trying to carry me or something?'**_

_At that moment, Zakuro felt a hand grab her leg making her fall. Zakuro began to feel terrified as the hands began to pull her back into the black mist. She could feel these hands rubbing all over her lustfully, touching her as they went under her clothes. It felt so dirty, disgusting and frightening to her.  
_

_**"NO! LET ME GO, DON'T TOUCH ME! STOP IT!" **__screamed Zakuro as she tried to fight the hands off and struggling to push herself forward towards the boy who just stood there and looked at her. Zakuro stretched a hand out to boy desperately. **"...-kun! Please! Help me!"**_

___The boy looked at her and reached out his hand towards Zakuro who widened her eyes hopefully when he unexpectedly paused just inches from her, turned around and ran off, much to Zakuro's shock and horror. _

___**"WAIT! Where're you going? ...-KUN! COME BACK! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE! HELP ME!" **cried Zakuro desperately as she got pulled back into the mist struggling violently. The hands kept on violating every inch of her body, threatening to remove her clothing as she heard a chorus of men laughing mockingly at her._

___**"NO! PLEASE NO! LET ME GO! PLEASE!" **__she cried while sobbing, her body going limp as the dark mist shrouded around her, making the boy's fleeing figure the last thing she saw. **"HELP ME! SOMEONE! HELP MEEEEEEEE!"**_

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_**"NOOOOOOOO..!"**_ screamed Zakuro shooting up from a bed and lashing a leg out at the person who stood by her bed.

"WOAH!" yelped Hana as she just barely ducked in time to avoid having her head knocked clean off her shoulders by Zakuro's deadly kick.

Zakuro breathed heavily as her outstretched leg quivered in the air. Seeing it was only Hana, Zakuro sank down back on to her bed shaking violently. Her whole body was drenched in cold sweat.

"Zakuro-sama!" cried Tsuchi who came bursting in with the Haimaru brothers.

"Zakurin! What's wrong with you? Are you okay?" demanded Hana worriedly as she grabbed Zakuro by the shoulders in attempt to calm her down.

"Hana...everyone..." Zakuro began to say as she began to calm down and looked at the worried faces. "Gomen...I just had a terrible dream..."

"You mean nightmare, you almost took my head off!" exclaimed Hana sitting on the bed with Zakuro, who curled into a ball. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Gomenasai..." Zakuro muttered in response as Tsuchi stepped forward and nudged Zakuro with her nose. The woman looked up a bit before throwing her arms around Tsuchi and hugged her for a long time. Hana and the Haimaru brothers looked at each other and decided to leave the two be as they left the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

"Tsuchi?..." said Zakuro softly.

"Yes, Zakuro-sama?..."

"Promise me...you won't ever leave me alone?..." requested the woman burying her face in the cougar's soft fur.

Tsuchi paused a little in surprise before resting her large head on the trembling woman's shoulder and patted her back gently with her paw. _"I promise..."_

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Elsewhere in Konoha, Kakashi Hatake was lying down on his bed in his apartment. An Icha Icha Paradise lay open and face down on his chest as he stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't get the the memory of Zakuro's strange reaction back at the restaurant (Refer to the previous chapter). It obviously bothered him greatly.

He recalled previous times he has interacted with Zakuro. She got a long well with everyone and was caring, not to mention strong and commanding as a jonin.

But now that he thought about, whenever she was on missions with others she would purposely avoid bodily contact with other men and was unusually eager and quick about taking down male criminals. Even when she was first introduced the only hand she willingly shook was Kurenai's while she just bowed to the other male instructors.

"And when you sum it all up, the times when she behaves the strangest usually involves men...Why is that?..." Kakashi asked himself, feeling a little agitated when he suddenly sat up, catapulting his book off the bed.

"That's it, I'm getting to the bottom of this!" he declared getting up and grabbing his flack jacket and his book before leaving his apartment.

* * *

Hana sighed heavily as she leaned back on the sofa with the Haimaru Bros. at her feet. "So how is she?" asked Hana when she noticed Tsuchi coming down the stairs.

"She's calmed down again, thankfully..." replied Tsuchi as she plopped on the rug behind the sofa. Hana turned around and leaned over the back to see the cougar.

"What exactly happened this morning anyway?" asked Hana curiously.

"Zakuro-sama got molested by some drunk customers but luckily she was saved by Kakashi-dono..."

Hana sucked in her cheeks a little as she raised her eyebrows. "Poor Zakurin...and plus that phobia of hers...no wonder she's traumatized..."

"What phobia?" asked a new voice suddenly.

_"RREOW!" "MOTHER-F!" "YIP!" _exclaimed the group in shock.

"Kakashi-dono! What are you doing here?" demanded Tsuchi when she saw the jonin standing by them.

"The door was open so I let myself in. What's this I hear about a phobia?"

Tsuchi narrowed her eyes distastefully. "With all due respect Kakashi-dono, that is none of your business."

At moment everyone heard a creak by the stairs as they all looked up to see Zakuro poised halfway down the stairs.

"Zakurin!" Zakuro-sama!" said Hana and Tsuchi in surprise at Zakuro's unexpected appearance.

"I was just going out to get a snack. Do you guys wan-" Zakuro was saying when she caught sight of Kakashi and froze in her tracks.

"Hey Zakuro-!"greeted Kakashi cheerfully.

**POOF! SLAM!** was the sound of Zakuro disappearing back into her room and slamming the door behind her.

"-chan... What was that about?" asked Kakashi all confused while the others just exchanged glances and quickly ran upstairs. Still confused, the jonin quickly followed suit. Once upstairs, Kakashi heard the sounds of heavy furniture behind Zakuro's bedroom door.

"Zakuro-sama! Please would you calm down?" called Tsuchi thumping the door with her paw.

_"What is Zakuro-chan doing?"_ whispered Kakashi to Hana.

_"Barricading the door..."_

* * *

Inside, Zakuro leaned back against the pile of furniture she piled up against her bedroom door and breathed hard with her heart thumping wildly in her chest.

_'Senpai! What is he doing here of all places? After this morning...AAAARGH! There's no way I can face him!'_ screamed Zakuro in her head.

_"Zakuro-sama!" _she heard Tsuchi call.

"GO AWAY! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed sinking to the floor and curling up while clutching her head.

* * *

Outside, Tsuchi and Hana just sighed heavily and left Zakuro while leading Kakashi downstairs to the door.

"What was that all about?" asked Kakashi incredulously, still incredibly confused about Zakuro's very strange behavior.

"Gomene, Kakashi-dono but you must leave! Your presence alone is very vexing to my Lady!" urged Tsuchi as she nudged him out the door.

"Look if it's about this morning, I'm not angry or anythi-!"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER JUST LEAVE HER BE!" snarled Tsuchi ferociously before kicking the door close in the jonin's face. _"I'm sorry...just leave us. Now..."_

Kakashi blinked in shock at being forced out like that before scowling. Now he was even **more** determined to find out what was going on! _'There's only one other place I could possibly get answers...'_ thought Kakashi as he left the Neko-Inu compound.

Zakuro peeked through the curtain of her room and silently watched Kakashi leave before she went back to lying in the middle of her room, staring at the ceiling. _'Gomene..Senpai...'_

* * *

**_After briefly fast-forwarding through time..._**

* * *

Kakashi looked around at the area he was in. "Let's see...if I'm right Kiba's house should be right aroun-"

**_BOOM!_** came an explosion through a wall just a meter away from where the jonin stood as a girl with long red hair and a black kitten with red eyes came tumbling out from the dust cloud that arose.

The girl had her a black headband on with the red tattoos of the Nekojiwa clan on her cheeks that resembled whiskers rather than fangs like the Inuzuka clan. She wore a sleeveless, high collar dark red top exposing her mid-riff with khaki shorts held with a red sash and black sandals on her feet while on her forearms were a pair of golden shackles like ones Zakuro wore. Around her neck and her kitten's was a black collar from which dangled a red ruby heart.

"OH IT IS** ON!** COME ON AKANE!" declared the girl fiercely as she jumped back to her feet and shot back into the house with her kitten, Akane.

"Found it..." muttered Kakashi bluntly as he walked past the gaping hole in the wall just missing Kiba and Akamaru come flying out this time and crashing into the road. Despite the commotion he ignored the two and walked to the entrance where he spotted two other young girls casually having an afternoon snack.

Both their clothing was identical to the red head from before except one was decked out in dark blue while the other in forest green. The first girl had an expressionless face framed by long dark blue hair tied in a high ponytail while the collar around her neck featured a sapphire crescent like the jewel that hung around the gray kitten's neck that slept on her lap. The second girl had a shorter bright green hair and a cheerful bespectacled face with an emerald diamond around her neck like the white kitten that was napping on her head.

Kakashi recognized these girls anywhere. Along with the red-head, these three were the Nekojiwa Triplets, Zakuro's genin team and also, her younger sisters.

The sister in blue took a sip of her tea and was about to take a rice ball when she noticed the jonin walk in.

"Ah, Kakashi-sensei..." said the girl while her younger sister smiled.

"Ara~! Kakashi-sensei, _gokigen'yo_~!" greeted the other girl politely but cheerfully. _**(A/N: Gokigen'yo: Polite/ Formal form of greeting**_. **_Used as a greeting and a way to bid farewell.)_**

Kakashi smiled back. "Yo, Kaori-chan, Cori-chan. Is Shota-san or Fuu-chan in?"

"Gomenasai, Kakashi-sensei. but Otou-san and Okaa-san are out on an A-rank mission at the moment," apologized Cori regretfully.

"The mission is from the Icy Mountains Country, I'm afraid that the Sir and Madam will not be back for another week or so," added the gray kitten who woke up and yawned loudly.

"Is that so Yue?" replied Kakashi sighing in disappointment when the white kitten on Cori's head suddenly perked it's head up.

"Incoming-desu nyan!" it mewed loudly.

_**"HIKARI KIIIIIIIIIICCKK!"**_ cried out the red head who performed a flying kick at Kakashi with the speed of a missile.

Kakashi sighed once more and leaned back letting the girl sail harmlessly past him and crashing into the ground creating dust and a trench in the ground. Kaori frowned disapprovingly as the rice ball she was about to eat was now dirty. "Hikari-neesama, must you do that in close proximity to our midday sustenance?"

Hikari got up and dusted herself while rolling her eyes. "Must you unnecessarily use euphemisms to describe meals?" she rebutted.

"Touche..." replied Kaori tossing away her ruined snack. "So, what's brings you here to our humble abode Kakashi-sensei?"

"It's about your sister, girls," replied Kakashi suddenly making all the girls become serious. Well, Kaori was always serious, while Cori's smile became smaller than usual. Hikari folded her arms and frowned.

"Did something happened to Zakuro-nee?" asked Kiba in concern walking up with Akamaru on his shoulder.

The triplets stared hard at Kakashi-sensei making him a little nervous.**_ "What happened to Oneesama?"_** the three asked in unison in slightly threatening voices.

"She...got molested this morning while working..."

**_Crack! Splash! _**Went Cori's teacup as it shattered in her tightened grip, spilling tea on the ground. Kaori narrowed her eyes as her pupils became vertical slits. **_Crunch!_** was the sound of Hikari fingers cracking into a nearby wall while Kiba growled.

"Is she alright?" asked Hikari in a low voice shaking in anger.

"She's seems to be very shaken up about it but Hana and Tsuchi are taking care of her at the moment."

Kaori and Cori exhaled slowly simultaneously. "Poor Oneesama..."said Cori sadly.

It was then Kakashi decided that it was time to get back to his purpose for coming over. "Look, I know this isn't really an appropriate time but when I was at your sister's place I overheard Hana talk about a phobia of some sort. When I tried to ask her about it Tsuchi kind of gave me the third degree."

"And you came hear to get answers?" hissed Hikari at the jonin.

"Hikari-Oneesama, that's enough," said Kaori sternly as she folded her arms. "Please forgive Tsuchi, Kakashi-sensei. She's very over protective of our sister..."

"But why? What's the big secret?" demanded the jonin getting a tad bit frustrated.

The Nekojiwa Triplets and Kiba exchanged glances. "Do you really wanna know?" asked Kiba raising his eyebrows.

Kakashi shot the group a look which said 'Get to the point!'. Kiba glanced over at the sisters. "It's your call girls."

The Triplets all looked at each other hesitantly before nodding in agreement. "The reason why Tsuchi is so over-protective..." began Hikari bowing her head a little until her bangs shadowed her eyes.

"The phobia Hana-Oneesan was talking about..." added Kaori next doing the same.

Cori also for once dropped her smile and copied her sisters. "The truth is...Oneesama is..." she explained before all three sisters took a deep breath.

_**"Androphobic..."**_ the Triplets said in unison after a long pause making Kakashi widen his eye.

* * *

_**R.F.: **_And the truth comes out...


	4. Androphobia

**Chapter 3: Androphobia...**

The Triplets all looked at each other hesitantly before nodding in agreement.

"The reason why Tsuchi is so over-protective..." began Hikari bowing her head a little.

"The phobia Hana-Oneesama was talking about..." added Kaori next doing the same.

Cori also for once dropped her smile and copied her sisters. "The truth is...Oneesama is..." she explained before all three sisters took a deep breath.

_**"Androphobic..."**_ the Triplets said in unison after a long pause making Kakashi widen his eye.

"Uso..Zakuro-chan?" exclaimed Kakashi in shock as now it all made sense to him, Zakuro's odd behavior that morning and back at her house.

Kaori nodded her head. "Hai," she replied.

"It wasn't easy but it took her a while to get used to me when she first moved here, ne Akamaru?" added Kiba looking down at the pup sticking out of his jacket. Akamaru barked in agreement. "Kaa-chan warned me about it before the Nekojiwa family moved in."

Kakashi 's expression became even more serious. "How long has she been suffering from this?"

Kiba shrugged while Kaori shook her head regretfully. "Unfortunately, I don't know the details as I was still training in the Lightning country at the time," explained the girl.

"And I was sent away to the Volcano Country way before it happened," added Hikari stroking Akane who sat on her shoulder.

That left only Cori as all eyes turned on her. Cori looked at her feet as she hugged her kitten, Jubei. "I'm not very sure of the details myself... I was too young to actually understand what happened back then..." said Cori regretfully as her mind flashed back to one day when she was seven.

* * *

**Cori: I had only just came back from the Academy when I heard that Zakuro-Oneesama had just returned home...**

_"Onee-sama!" called chibi Cori as she jogged upstairs to her older sister's room. "How was your first mission as chu-!" she was about to say when she cut herself off once she looked inside Zakuro's room._

_It was dark but from the light of the hallway Cori could make out 13 year old Zakuro's curled up figure on the bed, rocking back and forth with audible sobs emitting from her. _

_Even in the dim lighting, Cori could spot dark bruises over her sister's bare arms where her gauntlets didn't cover. Tsuchi as a cub was lying at Zakuro's feet protectively when she raised her head at the presence of the younger sister._

_"Onee-sama...what's wrong?" asked Cori in concern. "Why are you crying? What happened?..."_

_Zakuro didn't appear to be listening as she continued sobbing and hugging herself. _

_"Cori-sama...please, this is not a good time..." replied Tsuchi instead._

_Cori's heart felt torn at seeing her sister in such a state. "But why?"she asked tearing up a little.  
_

_"Cori-chan," called an older woman's voice getting the young girl's attention._

_"Okaa-sama..."_

_Tomoyo Nekojiwa smiled gently at her daughter and placed a hand on her head. "Your sister is just shocked..but she'll pull through soon enough," she said reassuringly as she gestured for her lioness, Kushi to come forward from behind her. Kushi crooned a little as she scooped the little girl on her back with her tail. _

_"Come on Cori-sama, lets go get a snack shall we?" suggested the lioness kindly as she turned to leave._

_Cori glanced over her shoulder just in time for a final glimpse at her sister before her mother gently closed the door behind her._

* * *

Cori quickly shook her head out of the flash back before looking up at Kakashi._ "_Gomenasai, Sensei. But I'm afraid we can't tell you more..."

"No, it's ok, thanks for your help..." replied Kakashi.

"But you didn't hear this from us ok?" said Hikari in a warning tone.

"Ninjas Honor," promised the jonin holding up a hand as he turned to leave when a thought struck him as he turned back to face the girls. "Oh Hikari-chan? Do you still sell your 'Null-Sniff' fume bombs?"

* * *

Back at the Neko-Inu House, Zakuro was still cooped up in her room lying on the floor staring up at the ceiling. She had already removed all the furniture piled up at her door a few minutes earlier and was slightly exhausted. Zakuro brushed her hand against her forehead, pushing her fringe back as she sighed in frustration.

"God, I am so pathetic...I won't be surprised if Kakashi-senpai doesn't even talk to me again..."

_"Do you really think so?"_ whispered Kakashi's voice all of a sudden.

"Maybe..." replied Zakuro without thinking as she closed her eyes. There was a few seconds that passed until realization Zakuro causing the woman to snap upright and turn to see Kakashi sitting at her bedroom window-sill casually looking at her.

_"You really should lock your window more often."_

"KAKA-_**MMPH!"**_ Zakuro was about to scream when Kakashi quickly slapped a hand over her mouth silencing her.

"_SHH!"_ hissed the jonin before lifting his headband revealing a closed eye. _"Sorry about this..."_he whispered as he opened his eyelid allowing Zakuro to gaze into his Sharingan eye for the first time.

* * *

At that moment, Tsuchi was sitting with Hana in the kitchen when she perked her ears up.

"What's wrong Tsuchi?' asked Hana after sipping her cup of tea.

"Zakuro-sama..." was all Tsuchi said as she ran up to her master's room. "Zakuro-sama!" called Tsuchi as she burst through Zakuro's door only to find it empty and the bedroom window open.

"Tsuchi!" called Hana as she appeared and saw the empty room. "Oh no! Zakurin!"

Tsuchi growled menacingly as she sniffed the air.

"Ok, let's not jump to conclusions," reasoned Hana. "We didn't even smell an intruder, how could she be kidnapped?"

"Smell the air," instructed Tsuchi all of a sudden.

A little confused, Hana sniffed the air all the same. "What? I don't smell anything."

"Exactly. This window is wide open but I'm not getting any of the outside smells in this room," explained the cougar.

"So what are you saying? A scent nullifying chemical?"

"A special one, usually normal ones wear off after a minute or two," added Tsuchi as she narrowed her eyes.

"It's already been approximately 2 minutes us being in here and I'm still getting nothing. Only one person can create something that lasts this long..." explained the cougar as she figured it out. "**_Hikari-sama_**..."

* * *

Somewhere elsewhere, Zakuro's eyes fluttered open as she felt a long wet tongue lick her face.

Her eyes opened fully to see a tan colored dog with a white snout, long ears that have a dark brown color and whisker marks on his cheeks. It was wearing a Konoha headband and wore a blue vest with a scarecrow face on the back. "Rise and shine, toots!" it said cheerfully.

"WAH!" exclaimed Zakuro in shock as she sat up only to find herself wobbling a little giddily.

"Woah-woah! Easy, Missy! Kakashi's hypnotic effects are still just wearing off!" the dog said placing a paw on her leg.

Zakuro looked at the dog's forehead protector. "You, you're a nin-dog aren't you?"

The dog gave her a weird look. "Well duh! You think I wear this headband to look pretty?"

"Come on Guruko, be nice to the young lady!" barked a familiar pug who appeared suddenly.

"Paku-chan!" exclaimed Zakuro in surprise and relief. It was then she realized that she was sitting in a small bed in someone's apartment, in someone's bedroom. After sniffing the air and recalling what happened before she blacked out, Zakuro turned to Pakkun. "Pakkun...please tell me I'm not where I think I am?"

Pakkun and Guruko looked at each other before returning their gaze to Zakuro. "Ok, we won't."

Zakuro's face faulted. Quickly, she got out of the bed and smoothed out her clothes.

"Where're you goin?" asked Pakkun as the girl walked towards the bedroom door.

"Away from here!" said the girl hurriedly as she threw open the door only to walk smack into none other than Kakashi. Almost instantly Zakuro froze up as she stared up petrified at her senior. _'Oh God this can't be happening!'_

"Hey Zakuro-chan, good to see you're awake!" said Kakashi cheerfully as he was about to reach out to his junior she suddenly snapped to life and scurried backwards away from him. Unfortunately, it also meant that she scurried back into the very room she tried escaping from.

Guruko and Pakkun looked back and forth between the two before exchanging glances. "Ok...we'll leave the two of you alone then!" said Pakkun.

"Seeya!" said Guruko as both dogs puffed into smoke and vanished.

"AH! NO WAIT!" screamed Zakuro in a panic only seconds too late.

"Oh what's the matter, Zakurin? Nervous?" asked Kakashi, casually sauntering up to Zakuro who was literally clawing her way up the wall. Literally. (Yes, I just used that word twice.)

* * *

Back at the Inuzuka house, Hikari and Kiba had gone back to basic taijutsu drills while their animal partners were taking a break in the corner. Kaori and Cori had already entered the house a few minutes before.

"Don't you think it was weird that Kakashi-sensei bought a bottle of your scent erasing formula? Straight after you told him about Zakuro-neesan?" asked Kiba as he practiced his punching and blocking while Hikari practiced kicking.

"Hey, it's business," replied Hikari when a shadow cast over her.

_**"Oh really?"**_

Hikari and Kiba looked up to see Tsuchi standing on the wall surrounding the compound looking down on them and boy did she looked pissed.

**"Nekojiwa Hikari, we need to talk..."** Tsuchi said in an ordering tone. Kiba, Akamaru and Akane immediately sensed something nasty and quickly disappeared into the house leaving Hikari on her own.

The usually bold red head was not feeling so brave when she saw the look in Tsuchi's eyes. Tsuchi had also just addressed her by her full name without any honorifics and when Tsuchi does that, Hikari only knows it meant one thing. She was so screwed.

* * *

Zakuro's heart was beating so loudly she could swear that it was in her ears. Her face was super pale with all the blood drained from it. The moment Kakashi made another step towards her, Zakuro quickly swung a leg at Kakashi who took all his strength just to stop it from dealing damage to his head.

"Oi,oi! Careful now!" warned Kakashi unfazed.

Now Zakuro's mind was beginning to shut down as her legs went limp and she sank to the floor.

Kakashi quickly reached out to catch her."Zakuro-chan, are you-?"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrieked lashing out with her fists, both which Kakashi easily caught as Zakuro was not much of a puncher. The young woman began to struggle and thrash about. "NO! LET GO! LET ME GO!"

"ZAKURO, CALM DOWN!" yelled Kakashi as he tried to restrain her. He could feel her fists trembling badly in his hands as he quickly pushed her to the ground and held her.

"NOOOO! LET ME GO! PLEASE! NOOOOO!" cried Zakuro in a younger sounding voice as tears began streaming from her eyes as her whole body trembled violently.

"ZAKURO! SNAP OUT OF IT!" commanded the older jonin tightening his grasps only to have Zakuro struggle more. His yells were drowned out by Zakuro's shrieking. When Kakashi looked into her eyes, they were glazed over with fear and terror. Those were not the eyes of the strong, tough Zakuro he knew at all.

_**"TSUUUUUCHIIIIIII!"**_ shrieked Zakuro at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly there was a loud fierce snarl, as Kakashi heard a loud smash from his window and was suddenly tackled to the ground with himself staring into a mouthful of snarling pearly white fangs. Tsuchi stood over him snarling fiercely like the predator she was. Behind her was Hana trying to calm a hysterical Zakuro down.

"Heh...Hi Tsuchi?" tried Kakashi a little freaked out.

Tsuchi continued her snarling and glared at him with her paws pressing down on his chest, making it very difficult for Kakashi to breathe.

"Zakuro, calm down please!" yelled Hana desperately still trying to restrain Zakuro who thrashed about wildly on the floor.

_**"NOOOOOOOO! LET ME GOOOOOO! NOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOO!"**_ shrieked and wailed Zakuro in a pleading voice. _**"STOP IT PLEASE NOOOOOO!"**_

"ZAKURO! CALM DOWN, YOU'RE SAFE!" pleaded Hana as well sitting on Zakuro's legs to prevent them from thrashing about.

Unfortunately, Hana's words have fallen on deaf ears. As far as Zakuro was concerned, she was no longer an 18 year old jonin right now, and she was no longer in Konoha.

No, she was a 13 year old girl, terrified, scared, and at the mercy of strange men, close to losing her innocence. All she could see was that she was in a dark place, her hands and feet were restrained while her privates were being fondled and violated by the strange men, laughing, humiliating her.

_**"Help**** me! Please! Somebody help meee!"**_

"Tsuchi!" called Hana quickly as Zakuro's struggles became more violent.

"HAI!" replied the cougar transforming into her human form and quickly pinning down Zakuro's arms. "She's beyond controllable right now! Hana-sama, we have no choice! Use it!"

"But-!"

**"JUST DO IT!"** roared Tsuchi fiercely as her now humans hands clenched tighter around Zakuro's wrists.

Hana quickly reached into her pocket and whipped out a syringe and immediately jammed it into Zakuro's neck, pushing the fluid slowly. Almost instantly, Zakuro's struggling ceased as the girl finally lost consciousness. Everyone in the room breathed huge sighs of relief.

Tsuchi not wasting any time, scooped the teenager on to her back and made her way to the window with Hana close by.

"Wait! I'll go with you!" yelled Kakashi quickly getting up when Tsuchi whipped around and sent the jonin a death snarl.

**"YOU** are to stay close by until I can deal with you later. Now, we get Zakuro-sama into the hospital," growled Tsuchi as she jumped out of the window simultaneously transforming into her Winged Beast Form with Hana and Kakashi following close by.

* * *

Not long after the group soon reached the hospital where Shizune was thankfully on call as they quickly admitted Zakuro. Shizune reassured them as she took Zakuro off Tsuchi's back and took her away with Hana accompanying her.

Kakashi glanced down at Tsuchi who looked extremely worried as she saw here mistress getting carried away. "Tsuchi, I-"

"Save it. Follow me," commanded the cougar leading the jonin to the hospital roof.

Kakashi couldn't think of anything to say. What he witnessed just now was incredibly disturbing and he could sense the killer intent seeping out from the cougar who sat at the edge looking over Konoha wordlessly.

"Tsu-"

"What were you thinking?" demanded Tsuchi not even turning around. "I told you to leave her alone and yet you just couldn't drop it now could you?"

"But I-"

"Hikari-sama told me how you went to them and heard her story...but no, even despite the fact upon learning she was androphobic you still insist on not leaving her be!" snarled Tsuchi angrily.

Her ears were flat against her forehead while her tail swished about angrily.

"Tsuchi, I swear I didn't mean for this to happen!" exclaimed Kakashi when Tsuchi suddenly snapped and lunged for Kakashi, roaring at the top of her voice.

Kakashi was just barely able to dodge when Tsuchi turned and savagely lunged for him again. He quickly dropped on his back and threw Tsuchi off himself.

"Tsuchi, let me explain!"pleaded Kakashi quickly getting back on his feet while Tsuchi flipped herself and landed on her feet.

"SCREW YOU!"roared the cougar. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shred you to pieces right now?"

"LOOK, all I wanted was to find out what was wrong with Zakuro! It's not like you were going to tell me anyway!"

Tsuchi roared loudly again. "How** _dare_** you address my Lady's name in such a familiar tone!" she threatened menacingly as she began to circle around Kakashi. "Just when I think she was back on her feet, you go and do _**THIS!**"_

On the last word, Tsuchi began charging at Kakashi. But just before the cougar could land her target, Hana appeared from the side and with all her strength, tackled Tsuchi to the ground. "NOW SHIZUNE!" she called to the medic-nin who was close behind her.

Kakashi looked just in time to see Shizune pull back her sleeve and swiftly fire her tranquilizer needles at the cougar, effectively sedating her.

Hana breathed a sigh of relief when the cougar went limp in her arms. The sedative was just enough to calm Tsuchi, but not enough to knock her out.

Tsuchi growled as she glared groggily at the two women. "Hana-dono...why?..."

"Tsuchi, it's not like I don't understand why you are outraged at what Kakashi-san has done," explained Hana bending down to Tsuchi's level. "But hasn't this gone on long enough? That incident at the restaurant isn't going to be the only time. There's a chance it might repeat itself."

Shizune nodded in agreement. "I agree Tsuchi. You can't always be there to protect Zakurin. She's a grown woman now, she'll never blossom as a kunoichi if she continues living with this fear."

Tsuchi growled stubbornly. "She made it to jonin just fine..."

Hana frowned as she flicked Tsuchi's ear, making the cougar flinch. "Quit being such a cub!" she scolded.

Tsuchi gave an annoyed rumble when at that moment she realized that Kakashi was gone.

"Zakuro-sama!" she suddenly exclaimed struggling to stand up when the cougar fell over again.

Hana sighed as she stood up. "No way you're goin' anywhere. Just sit tight until the sedatives wear off. Me and Shizune will make sure he's up to no funny business."

"Gomene, Tsuchi..." apologized Shizune remorsefully as she and Hana headed straight for the one room they knew Kakashi would be.

* * *

They were right. Kakashi stood outside the private hospital room door, looking guiltily through the door glass where he could see Zakuro, still asleep on the bed.

Despite what he told Tsuchi earlier, the jonin himself had no idea what made him think so irrationally. He couldn't pass it off as intense curiosity. Eversince Kakashi heard a bit about Zakuro's past, he was intrigued.

After experiencing Zakuro's mental breakdown, he was unnerved a little. Judging froom the way she normally behaves, Kakashi honestly didn't think that Zakuro's phobia was _**that**_ bad.

"Kakashi-san?" he heard Hana's voice from behind him, prompting Kakashi to turn to see the woman along with Shizune. Both had grim expressions on her face.

"Kakashi-san, I don't like to say this, but me and Tsuchi...we really... don't want you to come near Zakuro for a while...as least until we managed to clear this incident from her mind..."said Hana regretfully looking down.

Kakashi bit his tongue as he cast a final glance at at Zakuro. "I understand...I'll keep my distance..." he said bowing his head. "Forgive me for all the trouble I caused..." he added as he walked away.

* * *

At that moment, unseen by the rest, Zakuro opened her eyes, having heard the whole conversation outside her door. _"Gomene...senpai..."_ she whispered sadly as she stared at the ceiling. She could her own body still trembling slightly.

_'Why? Why am I so afraid of men?...'_ thought Zakuro closing her eyes once more in frustrated confusion when her thoughts suddenly flashed back to her senior. _'Kakashi-senpai...help me...'_was the last thing she thought before drifting back to sleep.


	5. Help me, Save me

**Chapter 5: Help me, Save Me...**

Night time had fallen on Konoha as everybody lay in their beds sound asleep. The moonlight shone through on the Konoha hospital, specifically through the hospital window of Zakuro Nekojiwa, who was admitted just earlier that day after experiencing a temporary mental breakdown.

Zakuro slowly opened her eyes once more and looked about the room. Hana was sitting asleep in a chair in the corner with the Haimaru brothers snoring at her feet. Zakuro's eyes then traveled down to her cougar, Tsuchi, whose sleeping head rested on the bed next to Zakuro's hand.

The girl smiled as she lifted her hand and stroked Tsuchi's head, being reward by a pleasant rumble from the big cat.

Just then, Zakuro heard her door slide open, prompting her to look up to see a surprised Shizune.

_"Shizu-chan..."_ she whispered softly so she wouldn't wake the others.

_"Zaku-rin, you're awake!"_ whispered Shizune happily as she carefully made her way to Zakuro's side. _"How are you feeling?"_

_"A bath..." _muttered Zakuro all of a sudden.

Shizune cocked her head in confusion.

_"Let me use the showers, Shizu-chan...I need to clean myself..."_

The medic blinked before nodding as she helped Zakuro out of bed and into a robe for her to wear. After leading her to the showers, Zakuro stood in the stall and allowed the hot water to run all over her. She gave a contented sigh as Zakuro ran her fingers through her hair.

Shizune had left shortly at Zakuro's request to bring her clothes from the 'Neko-Inu' house.

Suddenly Zakuro had a sudden flashback to her outburst at Kakashi's house, snapping her out of contentment with a small gasp. Burying her face in her hands, Zakuro leaned against the wall and slid down into a crouching position, hugging herself while her long wet, wine-colored hair plastered itself to her body.

Zakuro unconsciously began rubbing her wrists. What was wrong with her? She was a kunoichi, a jonin even, born into a powerful clan, hell, she even had a deadly reputation! And yet, when put in situation that has her simply in the presence of men, she becomes a pathetic, scared little girl. It frustrated the kunoichi to no end!

Suddenly, Zakuro's fingers brushed against some bumps on her left wrist, making her lift her head slightly to look. Running across her left wrist were some old scars from a deep wound. Zakuro ran her fingers across it as images of blood spilling and worried faces appeared. Usually, they were covered by her gauntlets, so even Zakuro herself sometimes forgets she had such scars.

"How ugly..." she muttered bitterly.

At that moment, an image of concerned Kakashi holding a caring hand towards her flashed in Zakuro's mind.

_"Don't touch me!"_ she recalled herself screaming as Zakuro slapped away her senior's hand.

_"Kakashi-san...we really don't you to come near Zakuro for a while..." _came a memory of Hana's voice echoing in her head.

Zakuro felt a pang of guilt. It wasn't fair to her senior. The kunoichi was aware his intentions were good, but it was because of her, Kakashi was in trouble.

The kunoichi stared blankly at the hand which slapped away her senior's as more water came pouring down her face. _"Kaka__shi...-senpai..."_

* * *

"Zakurin? I'm back!" called Shizune as she re-entered the shower room with a bundle of clothes. "Sorry if I made you wa-"

Shizune cut herself short when saw that the shower stall Zakuro was in was empty and her hospital robe and towel were gone. That was when she noticed that the bathroom window was open. It wasn't very big, but it was wide enough to let a person slip through if he or she was flexible enough. Unfortunately, Zakuro was.

"Oh shiz..."

* * *

Elsewhere, Kakashi was lying down on his bed on his side, facing the wall. He couldn't bring himself to sleep at all. Not even reading his entire Icha-Icha collection was helping. The jonin felt incredibly responsible for putting Zakuro in the hospital. The guilt was killing him.

Kakashi let out a long frustrated sigh as he punched the wall in front of him. "Kuso..." he growled. "I need to apologize somehow..."

Just then, Kakashi heard a rush of wind followed by the rustling of curtains. _'Strange, I thought I closed the window?' _thought Kakashi as he sat up with the intention to close the window.

But just he was about to get out of bed, he noticed a small puddle of water next to a pair of dainty feet.

Slowly his traveled upwards to see none other than Zakuro Nekojiwa staring at him with her hair plastered to her face.

"WAH!" exclaimed Kakashi as he scurried back in his bed in shock. "Z-zakuro...-chan?"

Water slid down Zakuro's expressionless face and dripped to the floor with a plop. "Senpai... you really should lock your window more often..."

Kakashi looked at the girl in confusion.

"You know right? My secret fear..." asked Zakuro looking at the floor.

The man looked down guiltily. "I'm sorry, it wasn't any of my business..."

Zakuro shook her head in response. "No, I should be sorry...senpai...you were concerned for me but you still got into trouble with Tsuchi because of me...it wasn't fair..." she said softly as she slowly sank to her knees and bowed her head. "Gomenasai...senpai..."

NOW, Kakashi was confused. Hours ago, this girl was avoiding him like the plague and even screaming bloody murder, but right now here she was, sitting in his room dripping wet and...hello...

It was then the jonin realized Zakuro's appearance. Her hair was wet and draped over her shoulders, her body was covered with nothing more than a damp hospital robe over an equally damp towel draped tightly around her body. With her bent over slightly, in the dim light, Kakashi could even see some cleavage.

It was in a way...dare he say it...sexy...

Kakashi quickly covered his mouth and nose before turning away shamefully._'Dammit Zakuro-chan...you're being too vulnerable!'_

Without another word, Kakashi jumped off his bed and quickly ran to his closet, grabbed the largest towel he had before tossing over Zakuro.

"Baka-onna...get yourself modest..." chided Kakashi keeping his head turned to hide the redness of his face. "What's with your appearance?"

Zakuro said nothing at first as she pulled the towel tightly around her shoulders. "Gomenasai...I was so desperate to apologize... I ran out straight while I was taking a shower..."

Kakashi suddenly coughed violently as he choked on spit at hearing his junior's story. Opening his closet once more, Kakashi pulled out a dress shirt and shorts before throwing it over Zakuro.

"You idiot...Tsuchi will have my head **and** my manhood if you die of pnuemonia or something..." muttered Kakashi as he hurriedly left the room and slammed the door behind him.

The jonin hurriedly rushed to the kitchen. Once there he sank down on a chair and buried his face in his hands. _'Mental note: Use Sharingan to wipe this incident from my head...'_

* * *

Inside the bedroom, Zakuro slipped out of her robe and towel as she slipped on Kakashi's shirt and pulled on his shorts, which were a little big but it had a string so she used to tighten the waistband. After pulling her hair out from the shirt, Zakuro glanced around the room and noticed two picture frames by his bedside.

One was of Kakashi and his teammates in his youth. The other had an adult Kakashi smiling with his own genin team. Zakuro smiled as she touched the smiling picture.

* * *

Kakashi perked his head up when he heard his bedroom door open followed by foot steps walking in the direction of the kitchen. Kakashi quickly got up and moved as far away from the door as possible when Zakuro suddenly appeared.

For a brief moment, Kakashi's breathing took a pause when he saw her. Her long, wine-colored hair draped over her right shoulder, while his shirt which was much bigger than Zakuro hung loosely on her small frame with a bit of her shoulder and slight cleavage exposed, revealing her lovely peach colored skin.

Kakashi could feel his face get hot as he hung his head.

Zakuro hung at the door way, fidgeting self-consciously. "Excuse me...I must look incredibly shabby right now..."

"What? No! You look good!" said Kakashi hurriedly.

Zakuro blushed a little. "Oh...thank you..."

"Why don't you have a seat! I'll make tea!" offered a slightly flustered Kakashi as he hurriedly searched his cupboards.

The kunoichi hesitated a little before deciding to accept the offer. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air. After a couple of minutes, Kakashi placed a cup of tea in front of Zakuro before shifting away, to give her space.

Kakashi leaned against the far wall as he watched Zakuro take a sip.

"Zakuro-chan...exactly... why did you come back here?" asked Kakashi, folding his arms.

Zakuro bit her lip as she looked down at her trembling hands in her lap. Kakashi could hear her mumble something.

"Huh? What did you say?" asked the jonin craning his neck.

_"Help me..."_

"Huh?"

"Help me! Help me Kakashi-senpai! I want you to save me!" exclaimed Zakuro suddenly slamming her fists against the table while looking up at Kakashi with large, teary eyes, filled with desperation and helplessness.

"Onegai...save me from my phobia! I don't wanna be scared anymore!" she pleaded loudly shaking her head as tears suddenly streamed down her face.

Kakashi was stunned at Zakuro's plea. "O-oi...Zakuro-chan...are you sure-?..." he was about to say when Zakuro suddenly stood up from her seat and marched up to Kakashi and actually grabbed his hand, much to his surprise.

Zakuro kept her eyes shut and she squeezed her seniors hand in hers. Kakashi could see and feel her trembling greatly.

"Baka...I-I kn-know...wh-what I'm doing..." stuttered Zakuro nervously. "I-It's because you know m-my secret...a-and you're a man...it's all t-t-too perfect...K-Kakashi-s-s-senp-p-pai...I want you t-t-to train me..."she begged, her voice shaking, all the while keeping her head down.

Kakashi was really at a loss for words. But considering, Zakuro had willingly walked up to him and was holding his hand, it was obvious she was serious. Suddenly, he noticed Zakuro was swaying about on her spot and crashed to the floor face down.

"AAH! Zakuro-chan? Oi! Zakuro-chan!" called Kakashi as he picked up the girl and turned her over to see a dazed expression on her face with swirly eyes.

"O-o-o-one...gai..." muttered Zakuro in a dizzy voice.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. "Yare, yare...this woman...forcing herself like that..." he muttered as he gave Zakuro a little smile when he suddenly noticed her exposed wrists. His eyes widened at the sight of three jagged dark scars running across her left wrist. _"Zakuro-chan...did you...?-"_

At that moment, came a knock on his door, interrupting his thoughts.

_"Kakashi-san, open up, I know you're in there!" _came Shizune's voice.

"Perfect timing..." muttered Kakashi as he opened the door to see a stern looking Shizune. "Yo, Shizune-chan!"

"Where is she?" demanded Shizune ignoring Kakashi's act. "Zakuro-chan, she's here isn't she?"

"Passed out on my kitchen floor..." replied Kakashi bluntly, stepping aside to let the medic rush in.

"GAH! Zakurin!" cried Shizune in shock as she quickly ran to Zakuro's side and shook the girl. "Come on! Get a hold of yourself! What happened?"

"You wouldn't believe it even if I told you myself..." answered Kakashi leaning against the door frame. "It'll be better if she told you herself."

Shizune frowned at the man before hoisting her friend on to her back while Kakashi held open the door for her. Just as Shizune walked past the man she stopped for a while. "A word of warning Kakashi-san..." said Shizune a little coldly.

"Since childhood, I've never really liked you but for the sake of Zakurin, I'll tell you. The cats of the Nekojiwa clan are especially dangerous creatures when filled with jealously and vengeance. Tsuchi is no exception," she said as she looked up at Kakashi with narrowed eyes. "The bottom line...watch your back while you still have one..."

With that Shizune turned and walked away from Kakashi's apartment with Zakuro, leaving Kakashi with a slightly sinking feeling. Recalling the mental note he had made earlier, well, lets just say he decide to rip it and toss it.

* * *

Shizune was fortunately able to return Zakuro to the hospital without the others finding out. Before putting her back into her bed, Shizune was careful change Zakuro back into a hospital robe before stashing Kakashi's clothes away into a bag. _'Gotta get rid of evidence!'_ she thought as Shizune glanced out the window.

The sun was coming up and Shizune was dog-tired but she had to hide Kakashi's stuff or else Tsuchi would go nuts. Not in the room, Tsuchi would smell it.

Only one other place, Shizune could think off. Taking some wire from her pocket, quickly used it to hang the bag outside the room window.

Just in time too, for Tsuchi was just about to wake up. Quickly, Shizune slammed the window shut, and let herself slump against the wall in exhaustion. _'Kakashi-san...you owe me big time...' _she thought to herself before falling asleep promptly.

* * *

The morning sun shone on Tsuchi's face, making the cougar wake up slowly as she let out a huge yawn. She looked at the bed to her dear lady, Zakuro, still peacefully sleeping. Tsuchi smiled softly as she nudged Zakuro's face with her nose.

"Zakuro-sama, time to get up..." whispered the cougar as Zakuro stirred in her sleep.

Zakuro's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Oh...Tsuchi...Ohayo..."

"Ohayo-gozaimasu, Zakuro-sama," said Tsuchi gently as Zakuro smiled back and stroked the cougar between the eyes.

At that moment, Hana and the Haimaru Brothers also awoke and yawned simultaneously. "OH! Zakurin! How do you feel?"

Zakuro tilted her head and smiled. "I'm fine, thank you."

Suddenly, Hana caught sight of the clock on the wall and gave a small cry. "AAAH! Yabai! My shift is gonna start in 15 mins! Sorry girls, I gotta split!" exclaimed Hana as she grabbed her stuff and split leaving behind Zakuro and Tsuchi who sweat-dropped.

Tsuchi chuckled a little before turning her head and noticing Shizune slumped against the wall. "Moh...Shizune-dono... how can she sleep like that?"

Zakuro smiled at her frowning cougar. "Don't blame her, Tsuchi. She was taking of me last night while you slept. She's just exhausted. Why don't you help her check out and go home?" suggested Zakuro kindly.

"But Zakuro-sama!"

"Daijobu. If anything happens I bear responsibility for it," said Zakuro reassuringly giving Tsuchi a pat on the head.

Tsuchi still looked a bit unsure, but of her respect and loyalty she nodded and obeyed. Transforming into her human form, Tsuchi hoisted Shizune on her back and left the room. The moment the door closed, Zakuro looked down at her hands as last night's events flooded back to her.

She can't believe she actually held Kakashi's...no.. a **man's** hand! Then Zakuro recalled how even holding Kakashi's hand with both her own, they were outsized by his. _'Senpai's hand...it felt kind of big and rough...but it __was felt kind and warm...'_ Zakuro recalled staring at her hands when she suddenly realized what she was thinking.

**_POOF!_ **Zakuro's face suddenly exploded in a glowing bright scarlet color with steam rising from her head as she clutched at her blanket. _'Aaaah...why am I thinking about senpai?' _she thought, flustered when her expression softened again, although a line of red still existed along the bridge of her nose. _'Still... it did feel kind of ...nice...'_

Suddenly more steam erupted from Zakuro's head. "My god...I'm acting like a love-sick heroine from a shojo manga..." she muttered under her breath as she got out of bed to open the window.

Zakuro breathed in the refreshing scent of morning air when suddenly something came flying from the distance towards her. The woman instinctively caught it in her hand to see it was a pomegranate fruit. On it, was a message in marker.

"Lessons begin at 12 o'clock at the waterfall. Don't be late," read Zakuro out loud. There was no name, but the kunoichi had a pretty good idea who it was. Her grip tightened slightly while her heart began beating slightly faster. "Gomene Tsuchi..." she muttered as she glanced across to the opposite building and gasped a little.

There standing coolly in the wind on top of the opposite building was Kakashi who gave her a little wave before disappearing.

Now Zakuro's heart began to beat faster as she held the pomegranate to her chest. "It's time to face your fears Zakuro-chan..." she told her fears as a determined look came to her eyes.

* * *

**Ravena: :3 *Cat ears begin twitching while tail swishes about* Aa-ah! My dear Zakurin is so cute when she is determined~!**

**Zakuro: . MOH! Ravena!**

**Ravena: :3 KYA~! *sparkly hearts appear* An angry Zakurin is just as adorable~! NYA-NYA-NYA!**

**Zakuro: *Looks flustered as she lifts up a giant mallet from no where* ****ARGH! I'M SO GONNA GET YOU! **

**Ravena: X3 WA~I! ZAKURIN IS ANGRY~! KOWAIII~! *Throws arms in the air and takes off* RUN AWAAAAAAY...~~~~~!** **NYAHAHAHA! **

**Zakuro: *Appears more flustered as she gives chase* MATTE! COME BACK HERE! * starts swinging mallet wildly while Ravena dodges easily***

**Ravena: :P ZAKURIN, KYAWAIII~~~! **

**Zakuro: ^ URUSAAAAAIIIIII!**

**Ravena: *Turns to audience while still running from Zakuro* Oh yeah, before we go, the reason why Zakurin got a pomegranate is because in Japanese, Pomegranate is written as "Zakuro". So now you know! And with that, this is Ravena Felidae-chan signing off! Till next time~! X3 BYE-BEEEEE!**

**Zakuro: RAAAA-VEEEE-NAAAAAA!**

**Ravena: NYA-HA-HA-HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!**


End file.
